Urban Forest Update - Staten Island

Attention Staten Island residents, we have a fantastic panel lined up to update you on amazing urban forestry projects happening in your borough, plus learn more about the upcoming citywide Urban Forest Plan and how you can get involved! 

Presenters inlcude:

Maritza Cueva, Director of Education at the Staten Island Greenbelt (Greenbelt Nature Center)

Environmental Education: Learn about the importance of teaching and engaging folks about the urban forest in our city parks.  

Mike Treglia, Lead Scientist, NY Cities Program at the Nature Conservancy

LIDAR for tree canopy: Learn about how tree canopy is distributed across NYC and how it’s been changing based on the latest, lidar-based data available data, and new analyses from The Nature Conservancy. 

Benjamin Osborne, Assistant Commissioner of Forestry and Horticulture from the NYC Parks Department 

New York City Parks manages 5.7 million trees, just over half of the tree canopy in the City.  Commissioner Osborne will provide an overview of NYC Parks’ approaches to planting and maintaining trees, the agency’s role in the development of the City’s first Urban Forest Plan, and a preview of our next tree census – Trees Count 2025. 

Susannah Abbate, Senior Director of Community Impact, Snug Harbor 

Snug Harbor: an overview of how our trees and woodlands relate to our mission in site management and community engagement.

Presentation moderated by John P. Kilcullen, NYC Parks Conference House Park Director. 

Also, you will receive an update on the city-wide urban forest Plan. New York City is creating the first urban forestry plan, which will focus on best practices in maintaining and expanding the tree canopy and community engagement. 

This workshop is hosted in partnership with Forest For All NYC and sponsored by The Nature Conservancy. A BIG thank you to Snug Harbor, NYC Parks, and the Greenbelt Conservancy.